I still remember my first visit to the Caribbean like it was yesterday.
It was early in my marriage and golf-writing career - the honeymoon phase for both, if you will. Everything in Puerto Rico seemed so glamorous, even though the golf resort my wife and I stayed in is now just a hotel (the course adjacent to the Embassy Suites by Hilton Dorado del Mar Beach Resort closed years ago). We toured the forts of Old San Juan, went kayaking at night in a bioluminescent bay in Laguna Grande near Fajardo and tried (and loved!) mofongo for the first time.
That visit launched a two-decade love affair with the Caribbean. If you haven't been, you're truly missing out. We've created the ultimate Caribbean golf resorts guide to help point you in the right direction for your first (or next) Caribbean golf adventure.
Much like the U.S. golf resorts guide we launched in 2022, this new Caribbean golf resorts guide is one-of-a-kind. No where else can you find information on all 58 Caribbean golf resorts, spread across 20 different Caribbean islands, in one convenient place. For the record, we do include Bermuda in our guide, even though the island has a much different climate being so much farther north in the Atlantic Ocean.
This guide comes at a perfect time, with the Caribbean primed to further raise its profile in the golf world. Between the new Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw course at Cabot Saint Lucia set to debut in December, the astonishing redevelopment of Aurora Anguilla by one of the world's richest men, the new Sandals Dunn's River (which offers complimentary tee times at the nearby Sandals Golf & Country Club in Ocho Rios, Jamaica) and the timeless elegance of Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, there's a lot to love about golf in the region. Golfers would be wise to put the Caribbean higher up on their bucket lists.
How to use the Caribbean Golf Resorts guide
Our guide is simply a collection of pages starting with the homepage, followed by a listing of every island or nation home to at least one golf resort. Click on the homepage below.
Once on the homepage, golfers can click on the island/nation page to jump into its resort directory. Once they open an island/nation page, golfers click on a resort listing to reach each individual resort page. This page introduces all of the resort amenities and course reviews. Some of the best Caribbean golf resorts feature elaborate spas and pools and hundreds of rooms. Other lesser known resorts are as simple as a few villas, rental homes or a local hotel near the course.
We highly recommend using this guide to help you plan future golf vacations. GolfPass offers golf packages to Sandals and Beaches resorts in Jamaica, Bahamas and St. Lucia and other Caribbean resorts in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. GolfPass members receive $100 off certain golf packages as part of their member benefits. Click below to start exploring.
What is golf like in the Caribbean?
Personally, I've played golf on eight different Caribbean islands. Living on the West Coast, it's much harder to get there these days. I can get palm-tree, island golf in Hawaii much easier, but I continue to make the trek because there's something special about the Caribbean's culture that makes every trip memorable. Every island sports its own unique lifestyle, natural surroundings, culinary dishes and - this is very important - beer and cocktails. Plus, you can't beat the golf, especially when it's snowing and cold at home.
Here are some tips to know about island golf:
* You will need a passport for every Caribbean island except Puerto Rico.
* Many courses offer forecaddies as long as you schedule them in advance. Be sure to tip generously, and, even if you don't take one, be sure to have plenty of small bills as tip money for the staff - the club cleaners, the bar tender, the shuttle driver. The island economy depends on you to keep it humming. The locals live to serve tourists, so it's nice to return the goodwill.
* It's tough keeping courses in pristine shape considering the Caribbean's climate. There's so much wind, rain, heat and potential for tropical storms and hurricanes that you shouldn't be expecting country club conditions all the time. Enjoy the views and the camaraderie and the odd bumpy putt won't be an issue.
* Most Caribbean courses have been designed for a lot of wind, so if you catch a calm day, you should be able to shoot a good score on a layout designed to be resort friendly. I'm not embarrassed to admit that my best round ever, a 75, came at Royal St. Kitts.
A golf trip to the Caribbean isn't even really about the golf. It's about getting away from it all. The sun's shining. The palm trees are swaying. Just order another Red Stripe (Jamaica), Presidente (Dominican Republic) or Carib (multiple islands) and keep the vacation vibes flowing.
What is your favorite Caribbean golf resort? Let us know in the comments below.
